Hello fabulous friends and supporters! :)

In my Spanish classroom, I try to create experiences that feel joyful, memorable, and genuinely meaningful for my students. Last year, one of these experiences was our end-of-unit “restaurant day,” and it ended up being my students' favorite activity of the entire year.

After finishing our food unit, students walked into class to find the room transformed into a restaurant—tablecloths, menus, (fake) candles, and me in an apron. Students had earned pretend money by participating and engaging in class. On restaurant day, they received fake dollars, and students used them to order items from a menu priced to match what they had earned. It was a lot of fun, but it also felt real in a different way—students were making choices, interacting with each other, and practicing everyday skills in a setting that felt special. I teach at a Title I school, and for some of my students, this was actually their first experience with something like a sit-down restaurant. Being able to create that moment for them—right in our classroom—felt pretty meaningful, and it reminded me how much those small, joyful experiences matter.

Last year, I covered all of the snacks and drinks for this activity. I was happy to do it, and it was absolutely worth the effort—but with about 130 students, it does add up. This year, I’m hoping to crowd-source a bit so I can continue offering this extra (and admittedly excessive!) end-of-year celebration without breaking the bank. :)

This activity is not a requirement or an expectation—it’s a gift I choose to give my students to celebrate their hard work and growth over the year. If you happen to have a few dollars to spare, any contribution will go directly toward a Costco purchase of bulk snacks and drinks for students to “buy” at our classroom restaurant. Any support simply helps me continue offering this joyful, inclusive experience to students who deserve to feel celebrated.

Funds can be donated here on GoFundMe, or Venmo’d to @bayley-gochanour. No pressure at all—your support, in any form, is deeply appreciated (and I have been SO deeply supported by my loving community). Thank you for helping me make school a place where students feel joy, care, and belonging.